MacOS Sierra 10.12.3 Update Released
Apple has released MacOS Sierra 10.12.3 update for all Mac users running the Sierra operating system. The system software update is said to improve stability and security on the mac and is therefore recommended for all users to install on their compatible hardware.
Separately, Apple has also released software updates to iOS 10.2.1, tvOS 10.1.1,and watchOS 3.1.3 as well as smaller software updates available for users of Mac OS X El Capitan, Yosemite, and Mavericks.
Major fixes in MacOS Sierra 10.12.3 include addressing some PDF documents issues, a resolution to issues with some digital cameras importing abilities, and a resolution to various graphics issues for the newer model MacBook Pro hardware. Other smaller bug fixes and security enhancements are likely included.
How to Install MacOS 10.12.3 Update
Be sure to back up your Mac before installing any system software update. Time Machine makes backing up easy and is recommended, do not skip a backup before installing system software updates.
- Go to the Apple menu and choose “App Store”, then go to the “Updates” section
- Choose “Update” next to macOS Sierra 10.12.3 and let the download begin
The Mac will eventually need to reboot to complete the software update.
MacOS Sierra 10.12.3 Combo Update Links
Mac users can also choose to install macOS 10.12.3 with a Combo Update using these instructions here if desired, the individual package updaters for Mac OS 10.12.3 Sierra are located here:
MacOS Sierra 10.12.3 Release Notes
The release notes accompanying Mac OS 10.12.3 are as follows:
The macOS Sierra 10.12.3 Update improves the stability and security of your Mac, and is recommended for all users.
This update:
– Improves automatic graphics switching on MacBook Pro (15-inch, October 2016).
– Resolves graphics issues while encoding Adobe Premiere Pro projects on MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (13- and 15-inch, October 2016).
– Fixes an issue that prevented the searching of scanned PDF documents in Preview.
– Resolves a compatibility issue with PDF documents that are exported with encryption enabled.
– Fixes an issue that prevented some third-party applications from correctly importing images from digital cameras.
Enterprise content: Resolves an issue were network or cached user accounts (such as Active Directory accounts) using the maxFailedLoginAttempts password policy were becoming disabled.
For iPhone and iPad users, iOS 10.2.1 is available to download, and Apple Watch and Apple TV have updates available as well.
Did you install Mac OS 10.12.3 yet? Notice any particular improvements or issues? Let us know your experience the comments below.
Man oh manachevitz I am glad I looked here first to decide if I wanted to get the 10.12.3 update! I have a mid-2012 MBP and after reading this, I am staying the eff away from all that update. Unless there is a really good reason?
I mean to say; I updated to 10.12.0, because it was getting to the point that newer applications weren’t running (or running slowly) and python was all janked on 10.10.
Should I be on the lookout for something else?
Man oh mam, I am glad I looked here first to decide if I wanted to get the 10.12.3 update! I have a mid-2012 MBP and after reading this, I am staying the eff away from all that update. Unless there is a really good reason?
Boy, I feel ashamed to even ask about my little problem after reading all of yours. The only problem that I can tell at this time is all the function keys that let me adjust brightness (F1-F2) and sound (F10-F12) are not working. I have read a few fixes but they do not work.This is my first Mac, a Macbook Pro Mid 2015. One solution was to wipe my hard drive. and reload 10.12.3. Seriously? There has to be an easier way.
You all sound like experts compared to me. Any help from any of you will be greatly appreciated.
I cannot complete installation of macOS 10.12.3 on my mid-2011 mini. All I get is a frozen grey screen. MacOS 10.12.2 works just fine and I would like to remove the insistent request from Apple to “Restart” and load 10.12.3.
I updated to 10.12.3 to fix stability problems and slow computer – 2012 Macbook – my third one. BIG MISTAKE.
10.12.3 tries to make you use iCloud. It killed my old iMovie and deleted ALL my movies from my hard drive, appears to have changed my Time Machine Backups so NO MOVIES and iMovies were no longer backed up. I lost 9GB of movies – all except for some I had put in a separate folder on an external drive.
In addition, my USB print server no longer works.
Upgraded to iMovie 10 and it can’t export anything, crashes continuously. Totally useless.
The upgrade has basically turned my 2012 Macbook into a paper weight.
I have fixed it though.
I went and bought a Dell PC yesterday. Windows Movie Maker.
Tomorrow I am probably going to sell all my Apple stock as it would appear that they really are going down hill.
I have four old PC’s that just keep working along with the new Dell. I have some legacy stuff I will keep on the MAC for a while but I no longer trust Apple as they seem to think they know better than the users with their upgrades and automation. Hate their automation.
It keeps replacing things and doing things I don’t want it to do or ask it to do. I am fed up with having to figure out what Apple has done and figuring out how to put things back the way I want them.
I was successfully running 10.12.1 and updated to 10.12.3. The following programs stopped working:
EYE TV 3 (version 3.6.9 build 7416)
Netflix, kept asking for new version of Silverlight but loading it didn’t help.
CBS.com videos did not run and reported “plug in failure”
I verified the security settings for Flash and Silverlight were allowing those specific web sites, but it didn’t work.
I restored my 10.12.1 backup and everything is working again.
Any ideas?
I allowed my 2009 27″ iMac to update it’s OS X 10.12.3 two days ago. The machine has crashed hard 4 times in two days forcing me to power it down. Most of the console error reporting stopped working so I have no idea what has gone wrong.
Any way to roll this last update back< I'll use Time machine if I have to but don't fully trust that.
My Mac keeps restarting & won’t do the 10,12,3 update, says it cannot be verified.
me too. Super slow loading time for everything. At one point I got the blue screen with black vertical lines. It kinda works normal intermittently.
Any ideas? Here are all the stats:
MBP late 2011 15″ (2.4 GHz intel Core i7)
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
I thought maybe the graphics card was not functioning properly?:
AMD Radeon HD 6770M 1024 MB
Intel HD Graphics 300 512 MB
I know it’s old but it’s still on the list so…?
Updated to 10.12.3 and can’t print. This is maddening…
Installed latest update and now it’s caused compatibility problems with Premiere Pro. Program Display won’t show what’s in the timeline unless I put it in Multi-Camera mode. Stupid, because I am only using one camera/monitor. What’s up? I’d like to see what i’m doing. Thanks Apple – not!
Can’t print or scan since update to 10.12.3 anyone can help ?
Just did the update yesterday. Immediately after that my WiFi connection turned slow.
I tried everything that I knew but now WiFi issues apparently getting bigger and cannot connect to WiFi at all.
Pls help..
I’m using macbook air 2012 11-inch
Ps: battery life is also worse than before
Man, I have a 2010 iMac and have never had an issue with any update til now. It is sluggish and when shifting from the log in screen to the desktop it turns black and kind of rolls up with bars and I can’t play any sound or video files at all. Netflix goes to the start of the show but freezes then comes with a message telling me to check my audio drivers, VLC won’t respond at all, and iTunes does the same. I have an external sound interface as well (Presonus Firepod) that I use with active monitors that has always worked and it is no longer recognized either.
I have all my files backed up but haven’t done a time machine back up in years due to reasons so no help there. I guess I’m just wondering if any other early model intel iMac users have experienced anything like me or if I just drew the short straw this time around. I know it’s getting up there in years but it was absolutely fine before the update.
Just to clarify… after the black screen roll up thing the desktop rolls into place and looks normal, just so no one thinks I’m just clicking around in the dark.
Good news, after a whole day of manually backing up my most important stuff and downloading El Capitan (I was going to do a clean install downgrade) I decided to try a reinstall 10.12.3 first… That worked. Everything looks normal and runs smooth now :).
Went into freeze mode and never exited. Tried to reload, but could not return to original. Had to erase all and reload from Time Machine Disk.
The update is still available, but I am wary of loading it.
I am running OS X Lion 10.7.5. Do I need to update to standard Sierra 10.12 or can I update using 10.12.3? I downloaded the update from the appstore and when I open it, it tells me cannot extract bootlog files. Not sure what is going on. Possibly a bad download. I don’t have internet at home at the moment so a manual download link would be much appreciated. Thanks
If you have the following model of Mac, you can download and install macOS Sierra:
Mac Pro (mid 2010 or newer)
iMac (late 2009 or newer)
Mac mini (mid 2010 or newer)
MacBook Pro (mid 2010 or newer)
MacBook (late 2009 or newer)
MacBook Air (late 2010 or newer)
If your Mac is older than any of the models listed above. You can’t install macOS Sierra.
Even if you’re Mac is on the compatibility list, that doesn’t mean you can take advantage of all of the new features in Sierra. There are other things to consider. You’ll need a newer model Mac and a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch to use such things as Handoff, Auto Unlock, Siri, Apple Pay on the Web, Apple’s Continuity features, and more.
In general, in order to use all of the new features in macOS Sierra, you should have the following Mac:
Mac Pro (late 2012 or newer)
iMac (late 2012 or newer)
Mac mini (late 2012 or newer)
MacBook Pro (mid-2012 or newer)
MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Air (mid 2012 or newer)
Info from https://osxdaily.com/2016/06/14/macos-sierra-compatibility-list/
Late 2013 model won’t restart to complete update. When holding down power button the computer makes the start up sound but very faint like it is struggling to power up like a low battery sound.
Tried to reset smc and pram and nothing works thus far.
Hope anyone can help.
Just updated to 10.12.3 and my entire contact book appears to have been deleted. Anyone have ideas on how to recover it?
I have multiple listings of the same file in All My Files>Finder.
However if i go to the specific folder the particular item is located, there is just the single file.
e.g if i have myfile1.doc in Documents, when i open All My Files, I see five listings of myfile1.doc, five listings of the next file and the next file and so on and so on..
Hello, so to retain the battery time remaining feature that was removed in 10.12.2, and had to be saved from 10.12.1, is the same procedure required to have it in 10.12.3?
OK, I’ll answer my own question. To retain the battery time remaining feature, you’ll use the battery.menu that you saved from 10.12.1, and dragged it into 10.12.2. Save that battery.menu file to the desktop before you update, then drag it into 10.12.3. I had to disable SIP, drag the file in, then enable SIP, restart, works fine.
The PDF search function in the Preview app still doesn´t work. Neither in scanned nor in professional PDFs. It doesn´t even show the table of contents in the side bar.
At the end of the install process, my early 2011 15″ MBP turned off completely and won’t re-start. Not even the battery indicator button lights, or light in the power cable connection work. Seems this update may have fried my Mac or battery. Not sure what to do! :-(
try resetting SMC. https://osxdaily.com/2010/03/24/when-and-how-to-reset-your-mac-system-management-controller-smc/
Software update is propably not the cause. Although that “dead” light in power cable is weird, but its quite common with magsafe adapters (as I remember).
Upgraded to 10.12.3 yesterday and today my 2015 MacBook has twice lost its external screen (monitor via HDMI goes dark and loses signal) and apparently crashed requiring a power down and forced reboot. I found a number of pages on the web referring to issues prior to 10.12.2 with software like Duet display which uses kernel extensions, and while not conclusive I have uninstalled Duet and left the machine running overnight to see if it is more stable. No crashes in the 8 hours or so since removing Duet; maybe 10.12.3 regresses a fix?
Just to follow up, having uninstalled Duet the machine was left running overnight and I’ve just come back to it – still running the following morning just fine. Looks like Duet has a problem with 10.12.3… or vice versa. This would be the latest version of Duet (don’t know the number, sorry!) since I only upgraded it when prompted a couple of days ago.
To be clear, I upgraded macOS to Sierra from a clean, backed up machine with all available updates already applied to El Capitan.
Late ’11 13″ MBP, having absolutely no problems.
After installing 10.12.3 my MacBook Pro 15-inch Mid 2014 keeps freezing and screen turns off, the only way to recover is keeping power key pressend to power off and pressing it again to turn it on.
I am having the same issue on MBRO 13-2013
Sorry, I got the update names wrong. The post should read:
This update has fixed two issues that I had with macOS 10.12.2. Firstly it has restored the startup chime that disappeared in 10.12.2, secondly I can now download email again from my work MS Exchange server.
This update has fixed two issues that I had with macOS 10.2. Firstly it has restored the startup chime that disappeared in 10.2, secondly I can now download email again from my work MS Exchange server.
Ignore this post! I made a mistake. See next (corrected) post
I think it has a problem with multi-displays. My three monitor system is now reduced to one. And I have seen similar post on the Apple Support forum.
This realease Improves battery life on old MBP late 2013. still not optimal but at least more than 2h on 10.12.2
I updated last night and all seemed well. I woke up this morning to find my internal SSD drive had vanished and got a message that it was improperly ejected. A reboot did not bring it back and it’s not showing up in disk utility. It might be just a coincidence and my SSD has actually failed, or the update did something.
After leaving the Mac off for a couple of hours the SSD drive appeared again after power up. However, it vanished again right after Time Machine did a backup. Beginning to think it IS related to the update.
Hi Ed,
You’re right it won’t work. When I start up from my external ssd drive with 10.12.2 it works fine .
with 10.12.3. my system will hang bij starting up
02-14-17 Just ran update on two iMac 27″ Mid 2011 computers, running SSD on Thunderbolt. No problems.
“Standard update” link is wrong.
Correct. Both links go to the combo update
‘macOS’ is spelled with a lowercase m, just like the first letter of all Apple’s other OSes, that was the main point of the name change. Ya dingus.
wow, what a douche.
New Emoji!
Nope.